Door hinges are primarily designed to facilitate opening, closing and securing the door. To the extent safety or security is a concern, both the patent literature and hinge manufacturers focus on preventing fingers from being caught between the door and the jamb or preventing entry by unwanted intruders into areas partially protected by doors. In psychiatric wards and criminal detention facilities hinges are also designed to prevent exiting out of the doors.
Much to the dismay of hinge manufacturers humans find ways to use hinges for other than their intended uses, for example, by hanging objects or abusing themselves on protruding surfaces of the hinges. Such uses can lead to unhinging the door from the frame to which the door is attached or, more surprisingly, to injury or death, particularly to inmates of institutions like prisons or mental hospitals where more irrational persons are housed. For example, if a person hangs a gym bag from the top of a hinge and the door is opened with excess pressure to its maximum swing, the bag can act as a fulcrum to pry the hinge and the door loose from the frame to which it is attached. Likewise in prisons and mental institutions inmates have been known to hang or abuse themselves from the protruding surfaces of hinges. These are not theoretical possibilities. They have occurred in sufficient numbers to become a major concern of those who manage such institutions and therefore of hinge manufacturers. Like all serious problems, the challenge is always to find a solution that is both practical and economical. In this case where misbehavior is involved, the first reaction would be to take steps to change the behavior, always difficult to do. The genius of present invention is that it provides such a solution that meets legal requirements.